as the band played on
by rubberglue
Summary: Gwen manages the Camelot Knights and when she starts crossing the line with the lead singer, her life gets complicated.
1. Chapter 1

I've been on a 90s boyband kick and well, here is a short fic.

* * *

It's completely unprofessional. Not only is she his colleague (in a sense), they barely know each other and yet he is pressing her against the wall of his apartment, his hand under her blouse, stroking the skin of her stomach. His tongue darts hotly against her throat and she gasps his name as she brings one leg to wrap around his jean-clad hip. Gwen can feel his lips curl into a smile against her throat. Her own fingers thread into his golden hair and her eyes flutter shut. She is probably going to regret this tomorrow but at this moment, she doesn't really care.

In the cold light of day, regrets set in. Not only has she just come out of a messy relationship, she's pretty sure Arthur isn't the kind of person that does commitment. Most lead singers of popular bands aren't. Grabbing her clothes, she escapes from his penthouse as quickly as possible.

He says nothing at the meeting that afternoon. Instead, he jokes around with the others before settling down at the large table in the middle of her office. She is amazed by her ability to act all composed when her insides are churning and her heart is beating faster than usual. Thankfully, her voice is steady as she briefs the band on the week ahead. There are interviews scheduled, a performance at an award show and an appearance at a charity football match. Gwaine chews his gum loudly, legs stretched out on the table. Elyan questions the need for every event, grumbling that he really thinks that the time can be better spent rehearsing or writing songs while Percy meticulously scribbles down everything she says. Against her better judgement, she casts a glance at Arthur. Her heart jumps when she sees that his eyes, full of desire, are on her. His lips turn up at the edges when he notices her looking and she looks away, clears her throat then warns Gwaine not to be late for the interview tomorrow.

Telling herself it's for the best, she ignores his first text. But when he calls, she foolishly answers. She hears his voice, low and deep, telling her all he wants to do to her and she unlatches her door with trembling fingers and lets him in. It doesn't take long before they are in her tiny shower, her legs wrapped around him, her hands gripping his shoulders as he thrusts into her. She shudders under his hands and smiles when he does the same as she gets her fill of him. He frowns when she makes the excuse that she has to wake early the next morning and practically pushes him out of the room.

Even before she sees him enter the studio, she can feel his heated gaze and her skin tingles at his proximity. There is the briefest of touch on her back then he goes over to the others. Her eyes linger on him for a while before she quickly looks down at the detailed notes she prepared yesterday. Only Gwaine has not turned up yet, not an uncommon occurrence, despite warnings. But when you have a million dollar smile and charm to go round, everyone forgives the regular tardiness. The interview is in an hour and she fully expects Gwaine to coming rushing in five minutes before if she is lucky. A year ago, a situation like this would have sent her into a panic. Now, it barely raises her heartbeat. Arthur, on the other hand, only has to smile at her to send her heartbeat into overdrive. Clearing her throat to get their attention, she asks "Shall we do the briefing now?"

Gwen watches the interview backstage on a tiny little screen. The young girl, an intern at the station, sits next to her radiating excitement. She squeals when Gwen offers to get her the boys' autograph. The moment the hosts announce "The Camelot Knights", the live audience burst into wild applause and cheers and a smile crosses Gwen face. Every one of them is charming as usual and within minutes, have the two hosts eating out of their hands. Gwaine does his patented hair flip a few times, flashes a wide smile and makes his usual cheeky remarks. Percy smiles bashfully at the compliments the host pays him while her brother's glib tongue is put to good use. But Gwen's eyes keep darting back to Arthur, who smiles charmingly at the hosts while making a few self-deprecating jokes.

"Of course, we have to thank our manager, Guinevere, for all her hard work behind the scenes," Arthur says warmly as the rest of them nod.

She knows she is in too deep when all he has to do is to say her name on television and she becomes a quivering mess. When he throws his head back and laughs, all she can think of is the line of his throat and how much she wants to press kisses against it.

For weeks, they carry on in this manner. In the day, she is the band's manager. In the nights, they are lovers.

It's the most gorgeous, perfect, exciting time of her life.

The performance at the award show goes extremely well and they celebrate at Merlin's place. There's drinking, ribbing and laughter and Gwen's heart swells as she watches all of them. They are more than her job. They are her family. Then her eyes catches Arthur's and he raises his glass as he smiles at her. She feels the heat in her cheeks but she can't look away.

Having known her since childhood, Merlin reads her like a book. As soon as the celebration ends and he is alone with her, he starts his lecture. Yes, she says, she remembers the disaster that Lance was. She nods, trying not to let her irritation show, when Merlin points out the dangers of getting involved with someone from the band. It's not like she doesn't know. She was the one who started a relationship with Lance and she was the one who got badly burnt when he decided, completely without warning, to leave her and then when things got too awkward, leave the band. The When Merlin pulls her into a hug and whispers that he just doesn't want to see her hurt again, her irritation vanishes and she clings to her best friend.

She switches off her cell phone that night and sits in the dark thinking. About Lance and how she once thought they would be together forever. About the band and all the work every one of them put in to make it the success it is today. About how the messy breakup with Lance and his leaving the band almost ruined it all. Merlin is right, she tells herself. She needs to stop this obsession with Arthur. Just because he came to replace Lance in the band doesn't mean he should replace Lance in her life as well.

Pulling on her coat, she makes her way to his apartment. Along the way, she rehearses her lines. It shouldn't be too hard. He doesn't love her. They never spoke of the future. Her heart pounding in anticipation, Gwen knocks sharply on the door. Arthur's initial surprise is replaced by a smile so bright she feels slightly dazed. Before she can say anything, he drags her into a deep kiss, his hands sliding down her back to cup her ass and pulling her so she is melded tightly to him.

"I missed you." His hot breath caresses the side of her face.

"You just saw me this morning." That isn't part of her rehearsed speech.

"It's different and you know it. For one thing, I couldn't do this." His fingers go to the buttons on her blouse and begins undoing them, brushing against the swell of her breasts. Capturing her lips again, he slips his tongue in. Gwen relaxes against him. One more night won't make much of a difference she tells herself.

That one night turns into two, then three and then five. Gwen finds herself unable to get enough of him. Every night she tells herself to end it. Every night she doesn't. Anyway, she tells herself, it's not serious. He's good in bed and makes her feel like a princess. Why shouldn't she indulge in it?


	2. Chapter 2

Elyan is at the piano playing some chords – something Gwen knows is very likely to turn into another song for their next album even if she can't imagine it right now. She might manage the band, but music isn't exactly in her blood. Percy sits next to him and hums a few bars and soon their heads are bent close together and, every now and then, Elyan is scribbling frantically in his notebook. It's a slow week – no public appearances, no charity work – and it's nice just to hang out in Arthur's large penthouse.

Arthur and Merlin are behind the bar, chatting, laughing and messing with drinks, creating Frankenstein worthy concoctions that they name after themselves. _Artful Arthur. Merlin in the Mist_. _The Greedy Gwaine_. They think they are hilarious. Gwaine is somewhere – Gwen isn't quite sure. Unlike the rest of them, she's actually trying to work on their schedule. They are about to begin their biggest tour to date in two weeks and while the guys get to do the fun stuff like sing and dance, she has to work out the logistics of bringing them around the country with as little fuss as possible. Pushing her glasses up, Gwen tries to focus on the screen in front of her and the excel sheet full of various tour details.

Every now and then, she finds herself glancing up at Arthur. Once or twice, he catches her eyes, then brazenly winks. Her face flushes and she stares at her screen again, determined not to look up.

Until she does again.

Thankfully, she is quickly distracted by Gwaine who is suddenly in her eye line and gyrating his hips and doing some sort of popping with his arms and chest. There's also a little bit of a shuffle with his feet. Clearly, he's been drinking some of Arthur's and Merlin's experiments.

"What do you think of this move? For _Avalon Rises_ – the bit when Elyan and Arthur harmonise."

She blinks, pulls off her glasses and sighs. "Really Gwaine. Didn't you tell me the dance was already choreographed?"

"Don't ask her," Merlin laughs, clearly tipsy as his orange drink sloshes out of the tumbler he's holding. "You know she has no sense of rhythm."

Gwaine treats her to one more roll of his hips, then wanders to the bar. Arthur looks at her, even as he says to Merlin that he thinks that Gwen has plenty of rhythm. Even though she is across the room, she can feel his words caress her skin, sending desire shooting through her. She squeezes her legs together and counts backwards from ten. Thankfully everyone is far too busy to catch his meaning. At least no one gives any hint that they do. He keeps his eyes on her, dark and heavy with desire. She knows she should look away but she can't. Then Arthur breaks eye contact and turns to laugh at something Gwaine says and she yanks her attention away from him.

Everyone is sprawled in Arthur's living room, in deep slumber. All except her and Arthur. He's grabbed her hand and tugged her into his bedroom, barely closing the door before he encircles her with his arms. She tells him about the others outside. He simply grins and tells her, they need to be quiet.

And they are very quiet.

And it is very good.

She's in his bed one night, snug under his thick quilt, her cold feet tucked under Arthur's thighs when he talks about her attending a movie premiere the band is scheduled to attend. Her refusal is instinctive (she much prefers to remain behind the scenes) and after a moment's hesitation, he smiles and says, good choice. It's easy to ignore the slight twinge in her heart when Arthur leans into her and nuzzles her throat.

Two days later, Arthur tells her about a fancy, new restaurant that's opening and asks her if she wants to go. The next day, he wants to watch a movie at some film festival. And the day after, he suggests a trip to the beach. She says no to everything. Their relationship – whatever it is – starts and ends in the bedroom. She has enough self-preservation to keep it that way. And anyway, Arthur takes her rejections with a smile and a shrug, so it's not like he's actually serious about his invitations.

She's in the plane, just after take-off when she experiences her first bout of queasiness. It's probably the shaky take-off and she doesn't think about it again. Arthur is seated several rows behind and it takes some self-discipline for her not to keep looking behind at him, especially when she's pretty certain she can feel his eyes on her.

They are in a rented studio in their first tour city practising. Gwen sits in a corner and works on the various last minute administrative details. Despite having slept comfortably in a five-star hotel the night before, she's tired and can barely control her yawns. And her stomach still hasn't recovered from the flight. Still there's work to be done and she soldiers on. Occasionally, she looks up and grins at them as they run through their concert. She never stops being amused by grown men dancing this way – the coordinated arm movements, the synchronised hip thrusts, the random tearing off of shirts. And yet, even at their cheesiest moment, when Arthur turns his gaze on her, she can feel that familiar arrow of lust twists in her stomach and her mind wanders to when Arthur is pulling off his shirt for her in the privacy of his bedroom.

A sweaty Elyan flops down on the floor next to her, followed by Gwaine. Good practise, she says automatically and they grunt in acknowledgement. Percy is fiddling with the video recording of their rehearsal and Arthur is gulping down water at the corner of the studio.

"We're not crisp enough," says Percy, his eyes still glued to the tiny screen. "You can't just do what you want, Gwaine."

Gwaine shrugs. "I'm hungry. Let's go get some lunch. I'm thinking of a greasy hamburger."

On cue, her stomach lurches and she feels ill. She swallows and rubs her stomach, hoping to ease it. Perhaps it's food poisoning. She really shouldn't have eaten that last donut.

When Arthur turns up at her room that night, hair still damp from a shower he's just taken, she turns him away. She's strangely tired and her stomach still feels weird. But instead of leaving when she tells him she's sick and that he shouldn't hang around her, Arthur simply frowns. Then he chides her, as if she's a child, saying that she should have said something earlier.

"Never fear though," he says with a grin and a twinkle in his eyes. "I'm here now."

Arthur's arms warm around her, his hand stroking her back, Gwen slowly drifts to sleep with the unnerving thought that she might be enjoying this far too much.

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AN: Thank you for the comments! And I guess it's not over yet.


	3. Chapter 3

When Merlin, seated across from her at the small corner table in the hotel's restaurant, jokingly says the word 'pregnant' after listening to her moan about her symptoms, her hand stills and she looks at Merlin, shock spreading in her stomach, making it feel more uneasy than it already does. Still, she manages a laugh, a roll of her eyes, and changes the subject. The fake armour that the band ordered for their opening song is arriving at the hotel later that day and she instructs Merlin to deal with them. They need to be polished, she tells him. The stage lights have to reflect off them. Merlin signs, then assures her he'll get that done. Later, she sends Merlin to oversee the band doing another round of rehearsals while she pops off to get a pregnancy test.

On the way back from the store, Gwen finds herself wondering what hers and Arthur's child would look like. Would they have blonde curls? Would they be tall or short? Be impulsive and full of grand ideas or practical and detail-oriented? The moment she starts to wonder if their child would inherit Arthur's musical genes and she finds herself smiling at the thought, she shakes her head and chides herself. She's not ready to be a mother and Arthur and her are most definitely not in anything more than a sexual relationship.

Later, she stares at herself in the mirror, the pregnancy test placed carefully on the sink, noting that she doesn't look any different. There really is no reason to think she is pregnant – Arthur always used a condom. There was that time, in her bathroom when the condom broke, but Arthur had pulled out. At least, she vaguely remembers he did. Her eyes move to the pregnancy test and her hand moves to her stomach. There's no point waiting.

She's in trouble, Gwen realises, when upon seeing a single line appear on the test, there's disappointment mixed in the relief she feels. She checks the instructions again then looks at the test. It's confirmed – she's not pregnant. Tossing the test into the bin, Gwen grabs her coat. Now that this is out of the way, she needs to check on the venue the band is performing at tomorrow plus a million other errands that needed seeing to.

It has been a long day, lots of small problems adding up to a very stressful day, so Gwen is relieved when they finally reach the hotel. The band and Merlin talk about going to a small café nearby for dinner but Gwen begs off. After the pregnancy shock and the rest of the day, she's exhausted and all she really wants is to curl up in bed after some room service. Arthur's eyes meet hers in the lift up to their rooms, then his hand brushes against hers. She pulls her hand away and turns to stare at the buttons of the lift. It's disconcerting that when she looks at him, she is thinking of weddings and children and a small townhouse in the suburbs.

Just as Gwen steps out of the bathroom, her doorbell rings. For a moment, she considers ignoring it. But she doesn't.

Arthur stands in the hallway, a slight, hopeful smile on his face. Her answering grin is instinctive. And it's all wrong. She shouldn't be standing here, her heart doing a tiny dance – one not unlike the ones she's seen the band do, and feeling the urge to ask him what he thinks about children.

"I didn't get to spend much alone time with you. Thought we could have dinner together."

"What about the rest of the band?"

"Ah." His smile widens and he leans far too casually against the door frame. "They've gone to that café they were talking about."

"You should join them," she says, then tries to close the door.

His hand shoots out, stopping the door from closing on him. His head tilts and a frown creases his forehead. "Are you still unwell?"

It's an easy excuse and she grabs it. But instead of leaving, he takes a step into her room, going on about how she needs to see a doctor and how he's worried and the more he fusses, the sexier she finds him. When he starts to feel her forehead and mutters about a flu bug, she grabs his wrist, yanks him to her and kisses him.

One more night wouldn't hurt.

Their limbs are tangled, she's lying half across his body and breathing heavily after a particularly satisfying bout of sex. He's touching her gently, his fingers drifting gently across her side, down her hips to her thighs.

"Are you feeling better?"

She smiles. "Miracle cure."

Beneath her, Gwen feels him laugh. "Good to know. I'm hungry," he groans. "Room service?"

After Arthur orders what seems to be the whole menu, he goes into the bathroom. Gwen is still naked in bed. Burying her face into the sheets, she breathes in Arthur's scent. As much as wants to deny it, Gwen suspects that she's falling for Arthur. The question now was what to do about it. Scenes from her disastrous relationship with Lance run through her head. Would this relationship with Arthur be the same?

As it turns out, all her worrying was for nothing because Arthur stepped out of the bathroom, a frown on his face and the pregnancy test box in his hand.

"What is this?"

The coldness in his voice and the hardness in his eyes answer Gwen's question. Arthur isn't interested in anything long term. The pain that grips her is not unfamiliar. It starts at her heart and spreads to the rest of her. Sitting up in bed, she grabs the covers, clutching it in front of her as if it would provide a shield against the heart-break that she knows is coming.

"It isn't the flu? You're pregnant?"

So he hasn't found the test.

"Who's the father?"

She blinks. And before she can answer, he's crossed over to her and grabs her upper arms. She winces and he immediately lets her go with a muttered apology.

"I'm not pregnant," she whispers. "And there's only you."

Arthur drops the box and then she's in his arms, held tightly against him. He buries his face in her hair and Gwen suspects the words he's muttering are more apologies. She curls her fingers in his hair and cradles his head.

The arrival of room service breaks them apart.

They eat in silence, with Arthur clearly deep in thought. Convinced that he's about to put a stop to whatever this is, Gwen decides to take the initiative. Better she do the breaking up than him. Perhaps this will break less of her heart.

"Stop this?" Arthur asks as his fork clatters onto the plate.

She nods. "It was fun –"

"Fun." His voice is flat and he stares at her. "Was this always about sex for you?"

"What else could it be?" Gwen can hear the tremble in her voice and she wonders if Arthur can too. "And I think that it has run its course."

Arthur says nothing, then pushes his chair from the table and stands. "Is this what you want?"

She lies and Arthur moves towards her door almost immediately. When his hand turns the handle, her heart cracks. It's Lance all over again but different. She'd let herself believe in a future with Lance. At least, she hasn't let it go so far with Arthur. At least, he probably won't break up the band.

The door opens and her breath catches in her throat. Why is he taking so long to leave? She just wants to lie in her bed and cry. Tomorrow, with the first performance, she won't have time to cry.

"This is ridiculous," Arthur snaps. The door slams behind him and he walks to her. "I know about Lance. Percy told me all about him. So I think that you're afraid. And that's fine. That's why I thought we'll take it slow."

That makes her smile. "I don't think having so much sex is taking it slow."

He smiles in return, his expression softening. Lifting a hand, he touches her face. "I like you Gwen. I like you very much. Give me a chance. At the very least, you enjoy sex with me. Surely we can build on that."

"I do enjoy the sex," she says, conscious that her eyes are wet. She reaches for him and he tucks her into a hug.

"Is that a yes? That we try to make this work?"

She looks up at him. "This is more than sex?"

"It's always been more than sex."

"Yes," she says.

* * *

She paces backstage as Merlin helps the band put on their armour for their first song. From the front, Gwen can hear the screaming audience. She's known they had sold out their opening performance but she didn't realise what a full stadium would sound like. Trying to stem her nerves, she goes through everything again even though she just did that not half an hour ago.

"How do I look?"

"Like a handsome, medieval knight," she smiles as she lets herself run her hand down his chest plate.

He catches her hand, lifts it and kisses the back. Then he pushes her glasses up, leans down and brushes his lips across hers. "Wish me luck."

In the background, she hears the band being announced and the responding cheer. "Good luck."

It feels like the best day of her life. That title is quickly taken over by the day Arthur proposes to her. That day doesn't retain that title for long, usurped when Gwen discovers she's pregnant for real.

* * *

AN: Short and hopefully sweet. Thank you for all your lovely comments! 3


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